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d'Arnaud has thumb surgery, placed on 60-day DL

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d'Arnaud's two-run triple 1:01

9/25/11: Chase d'Arnaud races into third with a two-run triple, putting the Pirates on the board in the bottom of the second

By Paul Hagen
/
MLB.com |

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Chase d'Arnaud, who appeared on track to make the Pirates' Opening Day roster, had surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his left thumb on Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

"I kind of knew when I went [to the clinic] that I was going to have the surgery. It really [stinks]. I worked hard this offseason, so the timing of this is really annoying," d'Arnaud told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review.

d'Arnaud suffered the injury during a baserunning drill last Saturday. At first, it was believed he wasn't seriously injured. However, an MRI later revealed the tear. He'll be re-evaluated on April 1.

"Jordy Mercer has done everything we could have asked him to do here in Spring Training, and now he'll shift the competition focus to make the club as an extra guy, corner utility guy," Huntington said of the player on the 40-man roster who was expected to fill d'Arnaud's role. "Yeah, without the injury to Chase we're probably not as motivated to make this type of move. But with the injury to Chase, and as shallow as the shortstop position is in the industry and for us at the upper levels of the organization -- we have some young guys we're excited about in the future -- but shortstop is a position where you have to take care of the baseball."

The 26-year-old d'Arnaud made his Major League debut in 2011 and was a September callup last season. In seven Grapefruit League games this spring, he was hitting .214.

Paul Hagen is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.